Don’t Panic Appointed as The Wildlife Trusts’ Agency of Record

Nationwide 2019 campaign to energise people to take action for nature’s recovery

Environmental charity, The Wildlife Trusts, has appointed the independent creative agency, Don’t Panic as its agency of record, after a competitive pitch against five other agencies.

Don’t Panic has been briefed to create a nationwide campaign delivering strategy, overarching campaign concept, creative executions, production, distribution and media buys. In what The Wildlife Trusts hopes will become their biggest public engagement campaign; their 2019 ambition is to stop the decline of the UK’s wildlife by galvanising the public into taking action for its recovery, including a call for strong laws to help drive this.

Made up of 46 Wildlife Trusts, each independent charities, The Wildlife Trusts’ core belief is that people are part of nature; and that everything we value ultimately comes from it and everything we do, has an impact on it. Their vision is of people living closer to nature, with land and seas rich in wildlife, and to achieve this they believe nature should be woven into the fabric of our everyday lives - in town and country - and not just restricted to a few protected areas.

Nikki Williams, Director of Strategy and Policy for The Wildlife Trusts, said of the decision: “We chose Don’t Panic for their innovative and creative approach to our brief. The initial pitch delivered both unique and exciting ideas that would challenge us to try something different. This was important to us as we know we need to drive both political and behavioural change to create a wilder future for both people and wildlife, and to be successful our campaign has to stand out.

She added, “We are acutely aware that our wildlife is struggling and that people are becoming disconnected from the natural world. We want Don’t Panic to vocalise this and inspire people to take action to help wildlife recover and to enable people to reconnect to it once again. It’s only by creating a movement of people that we will truly put nature into recovery and create the wilder future we all deserve.”

Joe Wade, founder and Managing Director of Don’t Panic, added “There are more Wildlife Trusts nature reserves in the UK than there are branches of McDonalds and Burger King combined. The Wildlife Trusts want to make it easier for people to take individual action to restore the natural world that should be all around them. The Wildlife Trusts’ ambition fits perfectly with our remit as an agency; to create purpose-led campaigns using culturally relevant ideas. Being radical is at the core of all that we do and when we find clients who are willing to push the boundaries with us, it’s exciting! We’re very pleased that they’ve appointed Don’t Panic and we can’t wait to begin work with them in the New Year”